Iraqi-Marine convoy tests city's fragile peace

May 11, 2004|By Evan Osnos, Tribune foreign correspondent.

FALLUJAH, Iraq — In the first major test of a fragile peace in Fallujah, U.S. Marines drove with Iraqi forces into the heart of the city Monday and emerged without shots fired for the first time since intense violence erupted here more than a month ago.

Bristling with rifles, grenade launchers and machine guns, the convoy of wary Marines rumbled past block after block of stone-faced men. The troops were ordered to keep their guns ready but not aimed--this was not an attack.

Marine commanders had expected to face ambushes during their swift, choreographed sprint to the mayor's office for a meeting with tribal and paramilitary leaders.

In Fallujah the mere absence of bloodshed can be a minor triumph, and Marine commanders savored a tentative sign of progress toward breaking weeks of a standoff with armed insurgents.

"We have been through a difficult month," Maj. Gen. James Mattis, commander of the 1st Marine Division, said at the meeting of local leaders as scores of Marines guarded the building.

"This is one of those small building blocks today," Mattis added.

The tense round trip, which lasted just over an hour and extended only a few miles into Fallujah, avoided the Jolan area and other insurgent strongholds.

It was the Marines' first trip to the center of this Sunni-dominated river city since March 18, when a similar push left 12 U.S. troops wounded.

Mattis declined an offer of lunch and met for just 25 minutes with Fallujah's mayor, sheiks and the leader of a new paramilitary brigade fashioned by civic leaders and Marine officers to restore order to the city.

In addition to testing the reception for U.S. troops, the tour was intended to foster ties with the 1st Fallujah Brigade and its commander, former Iraqi army Gen. Mohammed Latif.

However, since the brigade's formation late last month, members of the unit have proudly identified themselves as recent insurgents, stirring questions about their willingness to work alongside Americans.

Putting plan in action

The coalition deliberately displayed a small force of less than 70 Marines, but hundreds of others waited on the city's edge, and helicopters and fighter jets flew overhead, in case they were needed.

The trip would have been aborted only in the event of an ambush or serious casualty.

Every detail was negotiated with diplomatic precision: 10 U.S. vehicles, 10 Iraqi vehicles and an Iraqi-driven truck in the lead, both sides agreed.

Mattis chose the 3rd Battalion of the 4th Marine Regiment, a seasoned unit that helped seize Baghdad in April 2003. Two-thirds of the members of the unit involved in last year's invasion are back in Iraq.

"What's a few RPGs [rocket-propelled grenades] between friends?" McCoy said, only half-joking. "You will know the difference between harassing fire and a coordinated attack."

The Iraqi troops, packed into the backs of white Nissan pickup trucks and toting AK-47 assault rifles, arrived Monday morning at a staging area on the edge of Fallujah. They were a picture of conflicted loyalties--waving the Hussein-era flag and wearing the fresh tan camouflage fatigues of the U.S.-trained Iraqi Civil Defense Corps--but that is the balance that Marine commanders hope may point the way to a sustainable peace in Fallujah.

Mattis greeted Iraqi police Capt. Hammed al Ayash with a handshake and then placed his right hand over his heart in the Arab gesture of friendship.

"If we send engineers into the city to repair damage, would they be safe?" Mattis asked. "Or would we need to have fighting forces there to protect them?"

"They will be safer if you don't send a fighting force with them," al Ayash replied.

A close call

Before the Marines set off, one problem was dodged.

Hours before troops were to depart, a bomber was attempting to plant an explosive along the route when the bomb went off prematurely, killing him.

The convoy left at 10 a.m., rolling slowly along the main street, passing shuttered shops and garages.

There were no women in sight. Some men waved; many others flashed thumbs-down gestures or turned their backs.

Along the way, Marine surveillance on the ground and from the sky identified black-clad, armed men moving along surrounding streets, officers said, but the men did not confront U.S. forces.

Convoy arrives

The convoy pulled up at the mayor's office and Mattis, McCoy and others officers went in.

They greeted Latif and Mayor Mohammed Ibrahim, both in business suits, and 14 sheiks in traditional robes. They sipped tea and cracked open cold Pepsis. Mattis declared that they made the first moves to recover "from the wounds we have suffered." The meeting was courteous but quick. Gunners stayed in their hatches and drivers kept their motors running.

The meeting was considered a success, but Fallujah remains far from pacified.

The 1st Fallujah Brigade has not yet fulfilled its orders to round up heavy weapons, ensure freedom of movement for U.S. forces throughout the city and arrest those responsible for the March 31 slaying and mutilation of four American contractors.

Back at the edge of the city, Mattis congratulated the contingent of Marines.

"We didn't come here to fight these people. We came here to free them. But the first step to ending the senseless fighting was the meeting we just had," he said.

Turning away from the group, he added: "Two arms, two legs, one head still attached. Good signs."

Once the convoy left the city, hundreds of residents filled the streets, shouting "God is great" and declaring victory over the Americans.

Some Iraqi insurgents with red-and-white checked scarves concealing their faces held up weapons.